1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, an information processing system, and a recording medium, and more particularly, to an information processing apparatus and system, an information processing system, and a recording medium for capable of delivering individual additional information per user together with music data, image data or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a result of development in the Internet technology, video and audio digital signal processing, and video and audio compression techniques, recent years have seen great progress in the technology of delivering video data and audio data (hereinafter referred to as the “AV contents”) to each user by using networks.
A common method currently in use for the efficient handling of video and audio data (AV contents) comprises essentially of creating the metadata describing additional information of the AV contents, controls the metadata together with the AV contents, and utilizes them. For example, the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) in a digital broadcasting service or the like is applied such technology.
A standardization work of the metadata, that is, the additional information of the AV contents, is underway, so that many users can efficiently use commonly the metadata.
For instance, the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) has been in the process of standardizing the XML (Extensible Markup Language), i.e., a general purpose data description language, expandability of which is now drawing much attention. Also, the SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) has been developing the metadata standards for a television broadcasting system.
Furthermore, the ISO/IEC (International Organization for Standardization/International Electrochemical Commission) is in the middle stage of developing the MPEG-7 (Moving Picture Experts Group 7) International Standards which provide the data description method of multi-media contents, whereas the metadata of the AV contents can be described and offered to users by using the standard format unifying metadata of the multi-media data, thus enabling users to effectively make mutual use of the AV contents and the additional information.
As a result of the metadata described above, the general purpose additional information such as the title of the AV contents, copyright information, a reproduction time, and a genre can be described.
FIG. 1 gives a schematic example of a conventional delivery and charging system of the AV contents wherein a server 2 is connected via Internet 7 with a terminal apparatus 9 prepared at a user's home.
The server 2 is operated to register the AV contents themselves in an AV contents DB(Data-Base) 5 and to manage them. An administrator of the server 2, while referring to the AV contents DB5, operates a server input unit 1 to input the general purpose additional information of the AV contents, and to register thus entered general purpose additional information into a general purpose additional information DB3, and, at the same time, the administrator of the server 2 operates the server input unit 1 to input a user information to register such user information into a user information DB4.
Based on a delivery request transmitted from the terminal apparatus 9 via the Internet 7, the server 2 also is operated to refer to the user information DB4, to extract necessary information from the general purpose additional information DB3 according to the user information thereof, to create common metadata according to the extracted data for delivery of additional information, and to store temporarily the data into a common metadata DB6. The common metadata temporarily stored are delivered via the Internet 7 to the terminal apparatus 9 together with the AV contents.
The general purpose additional information DB3 stores the registered information and the additional information of the AV contents. The additional information is the type of information which is inherent to the AV contents common among users and, e.g., an identification (ID) No., a format, a reproduction time, a storage location, a title, a genre, and a copyright. The user information DB4 stores information relating to the users such as usage status. The AV contents DB5 stores the AV contents themselves such as movie, still video, and audio. The common metadata DB6 temporarily stores the common metadata of the AV contents.
A terminal input unit 8 is operated to input commands such as delivery request commands as well as commands for causing the terminal apparatus 9 to execute necessary processing. The terminal apparatus 9 integrally and synchronously outputs the AV contents and the common metadata, which are delivered via the Internet 7, to a terminal output unit 10. The terminal output unit 10 reproduces and displays the video data and the audio data corresponding to the AV contents supplied from the terminal apparatus 9 together with the general purpose additional information.
An individual additional information providing unit 11 creates individual additional information per user and provides the individual additional information to the terminal apparatus 9 via a separate channel different from the delivery channel of the server 2. The individual additional information is the information inherent to the users who have desires of needs, and such as advertisement of appliances and personality appearing in the AV contents, deployment of a story, contents of a service, advertisement by means of conversation, and pay information offered to the user in return for payment of information fee to the information provider.
Next, referring to a flowchart in FIG. 2, delivery processing of the conventional delivery and charging system shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
In step S1, the server input unit 1 is operated by the administrator of the server 2 to input the registering information and the additional information of the AV contents. This additional information is inherent to the common AV contents among the users, e.g., an identification No., a format, a reproduction time, a storage location, a title, a genre, and a copyright. In step S2, the server 2 is operated to register the inputted registering information and the additional information of the AV contents into the general purpose additional information DB3.
In step S13, the terminal input unit 8 is operated by the user of the terminal apparatus 9 to input an usage request command for the desired AV contents. In step S11, based on the inputted usage request command for the desired AV contents, the terminal apparatus 9 is operated to request to the server 2 via the Internet 7 for using the specified AV contents.
In step S3, the server 2 receives the request for using the specified AV contents, and based on the request, refers to the usage status of the user information DB4, the server 2 performs processing of charging fee for using the requested AV contents data, and then updates the database.
In step S4, the server 2, based on the user information, refers to the general purpose additional information DB3, and extracts necessary data. In step S5, the server 2 creates the common metadata for delivering the additional information from the data extracted in the processing of step S4 and delivers the metadata together with the AV contents to the terminal apparatus 9 via the Internet 7.
In step S12, the terminal apparatus 9 receives the delivered metadata common with the AV contents and integrally and synchronously outputs the received data to the terminal output unit 10. In step S14, the terminal output unit 10 reproduces and displays the video data and the audio data corresponding to the AV contents supplied from the terminal apparatus 9 together with the general purpose additional information.
In the foregoing manner, the conventional delivery and charging system is able to deliver the common metadata describing the AV contents and the additional information to the user terminal.
Now, if the delivery and charging system is to provide more effective services, it is desirable that not only delivery of the general purpose additional information common among the users but also other services such as delivery of individual information per user and delivery of advertising information by specified corporations for their benefits and for commercial purposes.
Such information may conceivably include pay information which is offered as the user pays the information fee to the information provider. Consequently, insofar as the users are concerned, there are necessary information and unnecessary information or information on interest and information of no interest. Accordingly, there is a definite need for any delivery and charging system to provide information individually per user.
In a case of currently available delivery and charging system as shown in FIG. 1, the individual additional information providing unit 11 creates the individual additional information per user and provides the information as a textual material or electronic data to the user by postal service mail or other network.
Nonetheless, in the existing delivery and charging system shown in FIG. 1, the individual additional information providing unit 11 is separately or independently provided from the server 2 for delivering the AV contents, so that it is difficult to deliver the individual additional information per user together with the general purpose additional information of the AV contents. Hence, the user would have difficulty to integrally use the AV contents and the individual additional information.
Further in the conventional delivery and charging system, the usage status of the individual additional information and the charging information for the usage are not linked to the usage status of the AV contents, so that such information as the usage status and the charging information are unable to be managed by a single system.
As is apparent from the foregoing explanation, the following problems would occur if the conventional delivery and charging system is used:
1. The server is unable to totally manage the usage status of the AV contents and the individual additional information in integrated form, hence, it is impossible to easily recognize these statuses of usage.
2. Also, the server is incapable of providing efficiently the individual additional information, which is an advertisement of a specified appliance, exclusively to the users who frequently use the AV contents related thereto as well as other users who are interested in such information.
3. Further, the server cannot conduct an integrated management of charging (billing) or reverse charging (paying) in keeping with the specified additional information provider and the level of usage of the user of that information in relation to the usage of the AV contents.
4. The additional information upon registration of the AV contents is a description of the additional information relating to general contents of the AV contents and such is shared by many users. Consequently, it is not possible for the user to select and use a particular additional information that the user is interested in.
5. Furthermore, since the individual additional information (e.g., advertising of interesting contents) is provided through a different channel, the user cannot use the information simultaneously when watching the AV contents.
6. In addition, it is necessary for the user to separately manage the charging regarding the usage of the AV contents and the charging regarding the individual additional information supplied by the specified information provider.
7. In the existing delivery and charging system, the individual additional information (e.g., advertisement regarding the specified AV contents) is provided by a channel different from that of the AV contents, so that the user is unable to efficiently and simultaneously use the AV contents and the individual additional information. Even if the user should be interested in that advertisement, the advertising effect would be diminutive. Also, in the case of delivering the individual additional information together with the AV contents, since it is provided indiscriminately to the user who is not interested in that advertisement, the advertising effect would be insignificant and the user would suffer inconvenience.
The present invention addresses the foregoing problems. In delivering the metadata describing the AV contents and the additional information thereof, it purports to describe the individual additional information in the metadata thereof, thus making it possible to deliver the data efficiently together with the AV contents